It has become almost a cliché to say that something has gone wrong in the
transatlantic relationship, that the EU and the US have lost interest in
each other and have found more exciting prospects elsewhere. This in my
view is a gross exaggeration and oversimplification. It continues to be the
most important international relationship for both parties, but the changing
political and economic circumstances make it essential for us to refocus our
attention on it, finding the right policies and mechanisms to adapt it to
those changes".
In a speech to the American Club of Brussels, Sir Leon Brittan, European
Commission Vice-President responsible for relations with North America,
attempts to clear some of the fog obscuring the discussion about how Europe
should deepen its relationship with the United States. He proposes a three-
pronged strategy: building from the bottom up on the current links we
already have; filling in the gaps by boosting parliamentary and business
contacts; and preparing for a possible future initiative by carefully
analysing the pros and cons of a number of ideas which have recently been
made, such as a Free Trade Area and a new Transatlantic Treaty.
This new relationship must involve security, economic relations and American
and European joint involvement in the rest of the world. On security, Sir
Leon says "I detect an understandable US impatience with the EU as it
struggles to develop coherence in foreign and security policy to match its
single voice in trade matters. We need in the coming months to resolve the
question of how the European pillar can relate to the US".
"It is up to the EU to find solutions which are internally acceptable. But
they also have to be operationally credible to our partners. It has long
been a myth that the United States is opposed to the creation of a European
defence identity. But as that entity will still be using NATO logistics and
material when operating outside NATO auspices, the US has a legitimate
interest in our ability to create a European pillar which can take real
decisions with the political, administrative and military structures to
implement them".
Sir Leon explains how the economic relationship will come more to the fore,
and may in time come to equal the old security relationship. Likewise, the
relationship will be characterised increasingly by a desire to pursue common
objectives on the world stage:
"Those who predict an American return to the isolationism of the past are
wrong. Europe and America have shown we can work well together in the wider
world. It is not a question of ganging up on the rest of the world so that
other countries fall into line with some great EU-US plan. Rather, we must
use our considerable resources to make a more effective, joint contribution
to the most pressing of the world's problems".
Where do we go from now?
We need to imbue the relationship with a new sense of purpose and a new
feeling of momentum, upgrading it to identify a broader new goal even if it
takes several years to bring everything fully to fruition, Sir Leon
explains. If not, we could be left with a dangerous vacuum in the interim.
Working from the bottom up: "Europe and America need a progress-chasing
mechanism between Summits, to pursue and monitor issues identified above all
by the business community. We must consider whether we have the right
institutions for driving the relationship forward. For example, we used to
have meetings at Cabinet level between US Ministers and members of the
European Commission. This practice has fallen into disuse. Surely the time
has come to revive it. Perhaps we need some group of personal
representatives on the EU side to meet with US representatives regularly to
work through a large common agenda".
Filling in the gaps: "we also need a new forum in which representatives of
the US Congress, EU national parliaments and the European Parliament could
meet to discuss the transatlantic agenda. This would not replace existing
links. It could adopt resolutions which would then be fed back into their
respective national and European policy and law-making mechanisms".
"Similarly, we are planning to launch a consultation of business on both
sides of the Atlantic to test reactions to the idea of setting up a
Transatlantic Business Dialogue. This should not try to come up with a
negotiating agenda but should rather focus on the longer term. It could
include new areas of industrial cooperation over industry, business rules
and trade and investment in eastern Europe".
Working on a new initiative: "among the big ideas most frequently mentioned
are a transatlantic free trade area, an economic space and a new
transatlantic treaty. I have an open mind on these ideas. It is not too
soon to test those ideas now and to begin weighing the pros and cons. But
we must not create false expectations, nor get carried away by seductive
ideas which cannot be translated into reality".
"In the coming months, the Commission will look seriously at the feasibility
of an EU-US Free Trade Area. We have just come through an ambitious tariff-
cutting negotiation, and need to see whether there are realistic prospects
for further cuts. A free trade area would have to be compatible with the
WTO, which requires them to cover 'substantially all trade'. Agriculture is
sensitive to both sides and certain other sectors like textiles continue to
enjoy high tariffs in the US. I do not see the EU agreeing to eliminate all
tariffs on its agricultural trade with the US for the sake of a free trade
agreement. Any such arrangement would need to provide for certain
exceptions which would in turn need to be compatible with the WTO".
"Would we want a free trade area just with the US, or would an EU-NAFTA area
be preferable? The latter would bring further economic possibilities, but
it is politically more difficult to negotiate with three governments than
with one."
"The idea of going beyond tariff reduction towards the elimination of other
barriers and obstacles to business development is an attractive one. An EU-
US economic space would go further than just free trade, including mutual
recognition of standards, as well as increased cooperation in competition
policy and other areas."
"Finally, we need to look seriously at the idea of an EU-US Treaty. It
could provide a way of integrating all the various components of our
relationship which I have considered today - security, political and
economic. Nonetheless, until the EU has the IGC behind it and until NATO
and the EU have worked out the new European security architecture neither
the EU nor the US are likely to be in a position to negotiate a full-scale
Treaty to govern future Transatlantic relations. When that has been done,
we will be better placed to see whether its incorporation into other
elements of the relationship in a new Treaty is the right way forward".
"The immediate target is that, by the end of the Spanish Presidency, I hope
we can announce our ultimate objective, at least in general terms. In the
meantime there is much work to do".
***